Mana stones were crystals of condensed mana found in nature or hidden realms. Their mana was not as pure as the mana inside the resonator. Ordinarily, without learning a cultivation method, no amount of handling a mana stone would allow someone to draw mana from it.

Even for someone who had learned one, it was not particularly recommended. To rapidly increase the mana within the body, taking an elixir was a better option; mana stones were inefficient. They were mainly used for magic that drew on external mana, or for magical tools.

And yet Kyle reached for the mana stone without the slightest hesitation. Inefficient or not, its mana could be used by people other than mages.

That had been the case five hundred years ago. By the standards of this era, the Dark Age could well be called an age of barbarism. Spiritual roots, circuits, and cultivation methods had not even existed. In an era when mages themselves were rare, let alone magical tools, mana stones had served as a kind of performance-enhancing drug.

Kyle's current body had awakened its spiritual root, opened its circuits, and even opened the heart—his middle energy center. In other words, this young body was now in a condition similar to that of the Sword Demon when he had received the blessing of mana in his previous life.

'Though the core is small.'

Still, the conditions were more or less in place. Kyle gently closed his eyes, stroking the mana stone as he focused on the core in his middle energy center.

Immediately, the mana in the stone began to be sucked into his palm. It was exceedingly rough mana. It flowed through circuits that had opened with his spiritual root's awakening, without his having to carve them out himself.

Was this what it would feel like to have tiny, sharp fragments of blades flowing through his veins? An ordinary child would have screamed and fainted, but Kyle's lips twitched into a smile instead. The pain brought memories of his previous life vividly back to him.

'Hmm...'

As he guided the mana toward his middle energy center, following his experience, he felt his lower energy center clench painfully. The damned thing was protesting its hunger. Ignoring it for the moment, Kyle directed the mana from the stone into his middle energy center.

"Ghk."

His breath suddenly caught. This pain went far beyond hunger, and he opened his mouth, expelling a breath.

He was familiar with the pain of carving pathways through his body with mana and expanding his core; he had experienced more than enough of it in his previous life. But this was unlike any pain he had ever felt. It was not his energy center being squeezed, but his entire network of circuits—no, it felt as though an invisible hand had seized his soul and was twisting it.

BANG!

The mana heading into his middle energy center reversed course and burst from his entire body as faint particles.

'What the hell is this?'

Panting, Kyle rubbed his lower abdomen.

'Mana backflow? Me?'

Impossible. In disbelief, he closed his eyes and examined the inside of his body. Now that the backflowing mana had escaped, the pain was gone. He frowned in thought.

'I have a rough idea.'

His lower energy center was empty, yet he was trying to develop his middle energy center first. His body was resisting. Folding his arms, he continued to think.

'A lower energy center didn't even exist in my previous life, but in this body, it's open...'

By the common sense of this era, it was impossible. Kyle's body had defied the natural order. When the resonator shattered, he had guided the pure mana that burst out into his middle energy center, following the instincts and experience of his previous life. Thus, his middle energy center had opened first.

'I see. My body perceives this as an imbalance.'

Of course, that was only a guess, and since his case was unprecedented, there was no one he could ask for advice. Coming to a decision, Kyle sprang to his feet and opened his bedroom door.

Arian was nowhere to be seen. When he asked a servant, he learned that she was communing with her spirit in the backyard. He felt he ought to tell her before leaving, at least, so he headed there.

"Son?"

Arian, who had been stroking the beak of the enormous spirit he had seen earlier, turned to him in surprise.

"What's the matter? You said you were going to think in your room. Have you finished?"

"I'm going to the grand library."

After a moment's consideration, Kyle added,

"I might not come home today."

"What?! Why?!"

"I want to read some books there."

"You mean you're going to stay up all night in the library?!"

"Yes."

At his firm answer, Arian's mouth opened and closed. Her son, who had never once spent a night away, had suddenly announced that he would do just that now that he was ten. Strictly speaking, the grand library was still inside the Sword Tower, so it did not really count as a night away.

"A-all right."

She wanted to tell him no, but his expression was so resolute that she could do nothing. Besides, she was not confident she could persuade a son who had stood his ground and boldly voiced his opinions before Julius, whom everyone held in awe. Nor did she want to.

From this day forward, her son was unmistakably becoming a warrior of House Alastor. She could not keep him tied to her apron strings forever. Feeling a little melancholy at the thought, Arian let out a short sigh.

"Don't worry too much. If I finish early, I'll come home."

"All... right."

Arian could enter the grand library herself, but she did not want to disturb him. Judging by his expression, he wanted to look something up in the books.

"Oh, wait a moment, Kyle. Zephy says there's something he wants to tell you."

"Zephy? Who's that?"

"My contracted spirit. His actual name is Zephyros, but... that's not very cute, so I shorten it to Zephy."

Smiling sheepishly, Arian looked back at the spirit.

["Son of Arian. If you wish for the wind, try whispering to it first. No wind will ignore your whisper."]

An enormous bird with six wings. Its expression was difficult to read, but its voice was exceedingly gentle.

"The wind..."

Kyle gave a slight nod, then headed to the grand library on the second floor.

Nelia, the Librarian, had already returned. Smiling as though she had known he would come, she rose from her seat.

"What books have you come to read?"

"Mana cultivation methods."

Just as she had on his first visit, Nelia took his hand and led him to the shelves.

"All the books here are grade-three mana cultivation methods. The swordsmanship manuals are over there."

She did not explain the other shelves, but they presumably held martial disciplines other than swordsmanship, magical texts, and the like. Looking around the extensive shelves, Kyle asked,

"Is there a cultivation manual you'd recommend?"

"Oh my. I never expected you to ask me for a recommendation."

"I'm not going to learn it right away. I'd just like to skim it for reference first."

Nelia stroked his head.

"The head of the house said he would leave your possibilities open, but deep down, he hopes you will prioritize using your lightning spiritual root. May I recommend something along those lines?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"What level of cultivation method would you like?"

Children beginning their training after awakening a spiritual root started with basic methods to grow accustomed to cultivation. Kyle, however, answered without hesitation.

"Grade three."

"That would still be difficult for you to understand..."

"I'll try reading it first."

He rarely seemed like a child, but there was a distinctly childish stubbornness in his expression now.

Nelia raised a finger, and a thick volume slipped out of the shelf.

"This cultivation method is called the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art. It's an excellent method that makes use of the lightning spiritual root."

"There were several different sword styles under the same name. Are cultivation methods like that too?"

"Cultivation methods are different from sword styles. Which circuits open depends on the quality of the spiritual root, but certain basic circuits always open. Excellent methods such as the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art aim to develop the necessary circuits while filling the lower energy center."

Once every circuit intended by the author had been opened and the lower energy center was complete, one could be said to have fully mastered the cultivation method.

"Your middle energy center is already open, but... ordinarily, people complete their lower energy center first, then open the middle one while learning a more advanced cultivation method. My dear, your case is so unusual and unprecedented that it's difficult for me to offer any advice."

"I'll read the books first, and ask if I have any questions."

"I only hope I'll be able to answer..."

Looking apologetic, Nelia stepped away. Kyle took the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art to a nearby chair and dropped into it.

'Hmm...'

He had noticed it while reading grade-five swordsmanship manuals over the past five years: sword styles in this era often came paired with cultivation methods. Even perfect sword forms would not produce their proper power unless mana was circulated through the circuits. If he chose not to learn the cultivation method paired with a style, he would have to consider its compatibility with his spiritual root and circuits.

'I already have plenty of complex circuits open in my body. Even if a sword style or cultivation method happens to be incompatible with them, I'm confident I can force new pathways open, just as I did in my previous life.'

Though he had so many circuits that he doubted there would be any need. Reading the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art, he continued his thoughts.

'Mana exists everywhere in the world.'

There were two kinds of mana: the non-elemental mana that made up the world, and elemental mana influenced by its environment. Those with high-quality spiritual roots could alter their surroundings themselves, transforming nearby mana to suit their roots.

Of course, that was not necessary. Someone who awakened an ice spiritual root, for example, would find practicing mana cultivation in a place where snow fell year-round overwhelmingly more efficient.

'The lower energy center is... a field, to use an analogy. Unless the field has sufficient nutrients, nothing will grow properly. You could call it the foundation.'

One planted the seed of a cultivation method in that field, tending it by filling it with mana.

'My field is parched. Mana should rise from the lower energy center to the middle one, but in my case, it's the reverse. Mana drips down from the core in my middle energy center, then flows back up to circulate.'

The martial disciplines of this era were unfamiliar, but not beyond his understanding. Whatever the differences, they led to the same destination, so a slight difference in foundations posed no great problem for Kyle. He had already stood at lofty heights five hundred years ago; he could understand principles of this level simply by looking down at them. After all, a view from high above could be taken in at a glance.

'Ultimately, the pain I felt earlier came from my body's imbalance. I tried to develop my middle energy center before filling the lower one, and my body couldn't handle it.'

That meant he needed to fill his lower energy center. Kyle tapped the table a few times, then rose and returned the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art to its shelf.

"My dear, where are you going?"

When he returned to the grand library's entrance, Nelia looked up in surprise from the thick book she was reading.

"To practice mana cultivation."

"P-practice?"

"Yes. Is there somewhere I can practice?"

"Wait, wait a moment, my dear. Are you... saying you've already understood the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art?"

Nelia's voice trembled. Barely three hours had passed since Kyle had come to the grand library alone and begun reading it. She simply could not comprehend his declaration that he was now going to practice mana cultivation.

"I've understood enough to begin."

"What...?"

Nelia swayed on her feet.

Awakening a spiritual root was like gaining an entirely new sense overnight. Saying that circuits had opened within one's body was easy enough, but who could consciously perceive every blood vessel and bundle of nerves inside them?

That was why advance study of mana, circuits, and cultivation methods was restricted for children who had not awakened their spiritual roots. Studying ahead was meaningless and could even lead to bad habits.

"To begin a cultivation method... you must first clearly sense mana and consciously perceive each circuit in your body..."

"I've done all that."

He answered with perfect composure. Nelia swallowed hard. Even Julius, hailed as a genius, had taken four days before attempting mana cultivation. And what Kyle had just read was a difficult grade-three method.

"My dear. What do you see beside me?"

She already knew about her grandnephew's monstrous genius. Even so, she could not let him go without testing him. Quietly raising her mana, Nelia wrote letters beside her shoulder.

"If you don't see anything, come back once you can—"

"Kyle Alastor."

Kyle grinned as he answered.

"You've written my name."

"..."

"How should I prove that I can perceive my circuits?"

"There will be no need for that. You... wouldn't insist on something so foolishly."

With a disbelieving laugh, Nelia rose.

"You can begin a cultivation method... anywhere, really. Gladiheim is where the mana of the Blade Mountains gathers, and the Sword Tower has the densest mana of all."

Nelia approached unsteadily and stroked Kyle's head. Then a platform floated up and carried the two of them over the bookshelves.

"I'll show you the grand library's cultivation rooms for now, but you needn't practice only here. You live in the Sword Tower, after all."

"Why didn't you tell me about them before?"

"The head of the house had only permitted you to read grade-five swordsmanship manuals, remember?"

Fair enough. Kyle nodded.

They reached a wall beyond the shelves. Pointing to its several doors, Nelia said,

"The cultivation rooms are all identical. Ordinarily, you enter alone, but... there can be danger when first beginning, so I must observe you today. Is that all right?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Just so you know, the Librarian of the grand library must be very discreet. Whatever you read or learn here will not be passed on to your relatives."

"Not even Grandfather?"

"Hehe... The head of the house is an exception. He must know everything about the house."

Nelia opened the door before them. The cultivation room was a private chamber spacious enough to perform a sword dance in. Sensing the mana filling it, Kyle spoke.

"The mana is especially dense here. It was fairly thin in the grand library."

"Yes... it was."

How many more times would this little child astonish her? Shaking her head slightly, Nelia entered the room with him.

"My dear, try beginning. If there is a problem, I'll intervene."

"Yes."

There would be no such problem. Sitting in the center of the room, Kyle began the initial practice of the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art.

Mana cultivation began with awareness of the spiritual root. Directing a strong will toward it created a craving to breathe, much like holding one's breath for a long time.

Following that craving, one took a deep breath through the mouth. Mana responding to the spiritual root seeped in with that breath. Maintaining awareness of the root, one then directed the mana through the circuits required by the cultivation method.

The mana thus drawn in circulated through the body's circuits toward the lower energy center.

Kyle thought of his still-unfamiliar lower energy center as a hole. An enormous hole bored into his soul. Yet while its entrance was large, the space within was not.

'It's similar to a core.'

Five hundred years ago, training a core had been like training muscles. Repeated pain made the core larger and stronger. Once expanded, it recovered quickly even after its mana was spent, because it had already attained that size.

The lower energy center was the same. Pouring mana into the hole gradually expanded it. Once it had grown, it could recover quickly even after its mana was used.

'My lower energy center... has a large entrance, but it's shallow inside.'

Still, that large entrance allowed mana to flow in quickly.

Fast and violent. That was how the mana flowed through his circuits.

Kyle controlled the flow, feeling as though his insides were being torn apart. As an advanced cultivation method, the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art employed complex circuits, but that posed no problem for him.

HUM...!

Mana settled into his lower energy center.

The dense mana in the cultivation room was non-elemental, wild, and unrefined. Responding to the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art he was practicing, Kyle's spiritual root began refining the mana that reached his energy center. The root eliminated its impurities, refining it into pure lightning energy.

'So this is why the quality of a spiritual root matters.'

A mediocre spiritual root would take time to refine mana and lose a great deal of it in the process. But Kyle's root refined it so swiftly that there was nothing frustrating about it.

Mana cultivated solely through the Violet Lightning Heaven-Striking Art, rather than flowing down from his middle energy center, took its place in his lower energy center.

The seed had been planted.

CRACKLE!

Violet currents sparked around Kyle. Nelia gasped at the sight.

'He really has begun...!'

Even talented children commonly received guidance from an adult when first beginning a cultivation method. Kyle's initiation, however, was so flawless and precise that there had been no room for her to intervene.

"Hmm..."

Kyle opened his eyes and blinked several times. At first, his lower energy center felt strange, but that sensation quickly faded.

'Pour mana into the hole to expand the energy center...'

Focusing on his spiritual root and lower energy center, he guided the mana. Surging up from his lower energy center, it circulated through his circuits and headed toward his middle energy center at his will.

This time, there was none of the earlier pain. The imbalance had been corrected to some extent. Using his lower and middle energy centers as the two poles, Kyle continued circulating mana. Its flow gradually accelerated, stimulating his spiritual root.

Only then did he understand this body and its spiritual root to his satisfaction.

'Its capabilities are too much for a child's body to handle.'

The faster the circulation became, the more his head stung and his vision wavered. Elixirs or not, this was the body of a ten-year-old child. Neither fully grown nor sufficiently trained, it struggled with the violent flow within.

'The slightest lapse in control could damage my body. You could call it similar to malign energy poisoning among Demons.'

Compared to its advantages, that was a minor drawback. Grinning, Kyle rose to his feet.

'Looks like I can sleep at home tonight.'